The short answer: our information comes directly from our restaurant partners; through a combination of emails, phone calls, and web queries, we ask them for their details, and they provide them.

More specifically, because Dinova’s restaurant network comprises large national brands as well as franchisees, multi-unit operators, restaurant groups, and independents, the exact source of information regarding each individual location depends on the type of partner relationship involved.

• Some national brands provide us with a set of corporate-mandated protocols that applies to all of their stores, with the caveat that some of their locations may be subject to additional protocols as required by their local municipalities.
• Similarly, franchisee owner-operators provide details about the safety protocols that they follow, which may differ from the overall standards set by their franchisor.
• Likewise, multi-unit operators and regional groups may provide us with details about safety practices on a location-by-location basis or may choose to share only the protocols that apply across the board.
• We are reaching out to our many independent owner-operators individually regarding their details and use all available owner-provided resources to update their information.

While it’s unlikely but not impossible that a restaurant is not taking any COVID safety measures, if they don’t show up under any filters or do not have any “Location Safety Measures” on their restaurant details page, then chances are they simply have not provided us with their COVID safety protocols yet. The restaurant may well have multiple safety precautions in place, but unless they provide the particulars, we are not making assumptions about those activities.

We recommend that you weigh the importance of any absent details against your specific dining comfort level, and strongly encourage contacting the restaurant directly regarding any questions you have about their protocols.

The information reflected in Dinova’s search experience is self-reported by our restaurant partners. We work with our restaurant partners to confirm that their safety protocols are presented as accurately as possible, but we do not conduct on-site location inspections to verify the details.

As local city and county health officials work on reinstating the restaurant inspection activities that were suspended during the pandemic, we are taking the steps that are available to us, now, to create a COVID safety reporting structure that all parties can have confidence in.

• Our restaurant partners know how critical it is to provide you with reliable resources, and they stand behind the information they give us.
• We also have added COVID-specific areas to our “Leave feedback” and “Would you recommend this restaurant?” features, which are accessible on every restaurant detail page in our Dinova desktop search tool and iOS mobile app. These prompts give all business diners the opportunity to provide input on the safety aspects of their experiences at each of our restaurants. We use this feedback to follow up with restaurants regarding the information provided.

Whenever a restaurant provides their COVID safety protocols, we add a yellow “Location Safety Measures | COVID-19” to their restaurant details page. You can see when the information is provided and/or updated by consulting the date noted at top of the yellow box, beside the words “Last updated.” We work with our restaurant partners to maintain this information on a continual basis, and update the date shown on each details page whenever changes are shared by the restaurant.

Given the fluidity of the situation – as influenced by everything from local case levels to government mandates – it is always possible that you could experience more or fewer safety protocols than those that are detailed in our restaurant search. First and foremost, if the scenario you experience does not match the expectation that has been set and you are not comfortable with the discrepancy, we want to be able to share your experience with that restaurant partner. We encourage you to click on the “Leave feedback” or “Would you recommend this restaurant?” links available on the restaurant detail page in our search tools, and share the details of your experience with us so that we may follow up.